Category Archives: sex abuse

On My Bookshelf: Letter to a Suffering Church

Posted on 12 November 2019 by

My boss gave me a copy of Bishop Barron’s book. It’s a quick read–about an hour. It covers all the bases: victims, survivors, clergy, bishops, and outraged laity. The author’s name will get this book attention, sales, and reads, but … Continue reading →

Posted in On My Bookshelf, sex abuse | Tagged | Leave a comment

Not An Exit Strategy

Posted on 11 October 2019 by

I read this story where Cardinal Turkson is bothered by the cloud hanging over the Church. Turkson told attendees he glimpsed the impact of the scandals during the 2012 International Eucharistic Congress and the 2018 World Meeting of Families, both … Continue reading →

Posted in bishops, sex abuse | Tagged | Leave a comment

Moral Heterodoxy

Posted on 10 September 2019 by

Buffalo looks on track to be the next Kansas City/St Joseph and Minneapolis-St Paul, having one or two bishops removed from office. The metropolitan bishop in New York seems to be engaged in an investigation. In addition, the auxiliary bishop … Continue reading →

Posted in bishops, Church News, Commentary, sex abuse | Leave a comment

Pope Benedict’s F

Posted on 11 April 2019 by

I noticed a letter from Pope Benedict XVI released last night. I took a brief look at it, then spent a bit more time with it today. It’s a frustrating read. I understand complaints about 1968, and about moving forward … Continue reading →

Posted in Church News, sex abuse | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Not Surprising

Posted on 15 January 2019 by

Many keystrokes over another sex-and-cover-up revelation, and I admit I was surprised to see the surprise over it, as reported here at Crux. That people in power impose their will on others in the Church canonically and intellectually is no … Continue reading →

Posted in sex abuse | Leave a comment

Catholic Historians On Abuse And Cover-Up

Posted on 10 January 2019 by

An interesting bit on a meeting of Catholic historians here. According to those who’ve studied it, the epicenters are not Boston, Philadelphia, or the environs of Archbishop McCarrick: Instead, rural, Western dioceses such as Fairbanks, Alaska; Helena, Montana; and Spokane, … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, sex abuse | Tagged | 1 Comment

The Twenty Percent

Posted on 20 August 2018 by

Some commentators are focusing on the homosexual element of Church scandal. I wonder if it betrays a bias against, or a minimizing of the suffering of women. A facebook friend alerted me to his bishop’s response to today’s Church scandal. … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, sex abuse | Tagged | 1 Comment

USCCB Statement on Theodore McCarrick

Posted on 1 August 2018 by

A facebook friend alerted me to this “Statement on Course of Action Responding to Moral Failures on Part of Church Leaders” posted on the USCCB website today. Cardinal Daniel DiNardo acknowledges the obvious: Both the abuses themselves, and the fact … Continue reading →

Posted in bishops, Church News, Commentary, sex abuse | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

What A Difference A Day Makes

Posted on 21 July 2018 by

In the old days, I’d be gone for a week or two–camping or on retreat–and some news item would explode. Events like the Nixon capitulation in ’74, Elvis in ’77, or Oklahoma City in 1995. I took a pilgrimage day … Continue reading →

Posted in bishops, Church News, Commentary, sex abuse | Tagged | Leave a comment

Which Of the Six?

Posted on 21 June 2018 by

Commenting here, Liam wondered where this news falls on the scale of the six. I don’t know if that’s a direct invitation to comment. But seeing as I’ve offered no commentary outside of documents for a week or two, I’ll … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, sex abuse | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Resignations

Posted on 18 May 2018 by

I have been following the Church situation in Chile, but not closely enough to know if this news of a mass resignation of bishops is a gesture, a confession, or a natural consequence of some Vatican process with Pope Francis. … Continue reading →

Posted in bishops, Church News, sex abuse | Leave a comment

Pope Francis’ Accusation

Posted on 20 January 2018 by

Even Cardinal O’Malley is visibly perturbed at an off-the-cuff, seemingly angry remark by the Holy Father. This one, regarding a controversial bishop: The day someone brings me proof against Bishop Barros, then I will talk. But there is not one … Continue reading →

Posted in bishops, sex abuse | Tagged , | Leave a comment

On Scandal and a Funeral

Posted on 22 December 2017 by

Author and catechist Joe Paprocki had a facebook comment on Cardinal Law’s funeral: Our Church is quick to deny a funeral to someone in a gay marriage because of the “scandal” it would cause but then has a Vatican funeral … Continue reading →

Posted in bishops, Commentary, sex abuse | Tagged | Leave a comment

A Cardinal Passes

Posted on 19 December 2017 by

The word’s in the news of the passing of Cardinal Law, unfortunate and deserved lightning rod for sex abuse cover-up. The nearness of death was whispered here. I get this metaphor: (T)he moment is bound to bring a “media circus” … Continue reading →

Posted in bishops, sex abuse | 3 Comments

The Seven Percent Finding

Posted on 6 February 2017 by

On BBC this morning, this item from Australia. An inquiry examining institutional sex abuse in Australia has heard 7% of the nation’s Catholic priests allegedly abused children between 1950 and 2010. Australian bishops and religious orders weren’t singled out. Consider … Continue reading →

Posted in sex abuse | Tagged | 5 Comments